A theatrical version of Initial D is confirmed for release in August 2014. [Official Thread]

UPDATES : Animax has confirmed that Final Stage will be available on its subscription-based VOD (Video On Demand) service starting May 16th, 2014. It will continue where Fifth Stage left off. Consist of a total of four episodes, Final Stage will be focusing on the long-awaited final 86 vs 86 battle between Takumi and Shinji. [confirmed]

UPDATES : Avex has confirmed that the New Initial D The Movie will be a trilogy. First part of the trilogy is called Legend 1 -Awakening- slated for release in theaters on August 23rd, 2014 (Japan Only) [confirmed]

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if this is true then it flips my logic..i always thought of him as a pop singer pretty boy...if he really is goin to play takumi...then it will change my whole view of him. jays cool though i enjoy his music alot

well he does come off looking lazy and sleepy all the time >.< and he does have that hair takumi has cuz wit a ton of gel and hes young enough i dont see why he wouldnt b picked for takumi...idk bout his driving skillz >.<hope he gets it though...it'll be kool

ya his life is worth more then the car hes goin 2 drive >.< anyways on screen it'll look like hes driving so i dont mater to me anyways. and one more thing...not wanting to sound sceptical but where did turbo get this info from? a newspaper..? seems vague to me, lets have some evidence buddy! >.< post the artical in the newspaper.let me read it for my self then ill believe you!...that was a really seceptial statement... o well

ya his life is worth more then the car hes goin 2 drive >.< anyways on screen it'll look like hes driving so i dont mater to me anyways. and one more thing...not wanting to sound sceptical but where did turbo get this info from? a newspaper..? seems vague to me, lets have some evidence buddy! >.< post the artical in the newspaper.let me read it for my self then ill believe you!...that was a really seceptial statement... o well

it is said that the sho will be shown/made next year. they may be just talking cock(means trash talking in my local language) but if it does come out, i'm gonna watch it. one line from the article read:'based on a popular japanese comic, it features fast car like Jaguars.' UGHHHH! Jaguars?! I thought it'was Honda, Mazda and Nissan... sheesh!

Jay appears on-screen for the first time in Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â°Initial DÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â± Translation: wackycashew - www.jay-chou.net

2003/11/10 Hong Kong Apple Daily

Car-racing with Edison Chen, competing to be hip and cool Jay appears on-screen for the first time in Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â°Initial DÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â±

Reporters: Chan Yuet Mei, Lok Wah Ling

Jay is a standard car lover. Usually, he loves to drive his Jaguar sports car in place of walking.

Jay, who usually likes to drive his sports car, should be familiar with the car-racing shots when filming.

The long wait of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan fans is finally over. TheyÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯ve been looking forward to enjoying Jay to be in his first movie in a debut role. This dream will finally come true next year. This is because in March of next year, Tsui Hark will start shooting the movie version of Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â°Initial DÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â±. The male lead, Takumi Fujiwara, will be played by Jay. The role of TakumiÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯s opponent, Ryosuke Takahashi, will be filled by Edison Chen.

Quite a number of film companies have had their eye on the Taiwan popular artist, Jay, for quite a while now. They all want to successfully invite him to act in a debut role. ItÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯s a pity that they have not been successful. According to reliable sources in Taiwan, recently Jay was finally moved by the sincerity of the director of Media Asia Films Ltd., Lam Kin Ngok, and director Tsui Hark. He has promised to star in the new film Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â°Initial DÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â±, which will start shooting in March of next year and his salary for this film will be $4,000,000 HKD. Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â°Initial DÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â± is adapted from the Japanese manga with the same name. Due to the fact that that manga is highly popular in Hong Kong and Japan, therefore, there are quite a number of dedicated fans. And Tsui Hark is also one of these fans. About a year ago, the plans for doing the film adaptation had already begun. But they hadnÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯t been able to find a suitable person for the role. Only until Tsui Hark noticed that Jay has a unique character did he decide that the male lead of Takumi Fujiwara must be played by him.

Step on the gas pedal! Dedicated car lover, excellent skills

Jay is a car lover himself. Usually he likes to drive his Jaguar sports car in place of walking. Whenever there are new cars on the market, heÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯d go to the dealer to test-drive the new cars. Since JayÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯s driving skills are superb, the Taiwan paparazzi rarely can follow him. Surely, he will not be unfamiliar with the manga character of Takumi Fujiwara. Starring in Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â°Initial DÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â± this time, Jay will certainly satisfy the craving for car-racing.

Getting ahead! Costs too high, Media Asia takes over

As for the other male lead in the manga, Ryosuke Takahashi, Media Asia would like Edison to play that role. The on-screen time of both male leads are fairly equal. As for the role of TakumiÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯s girlfriend, Natsuki Mogi, theyÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯re planning on asking a Japanese or Korean actress to star in that role. In addition, Stephen Fung will play the role of another car-racer, Seiji Iwaki.

A few years ago, Andy LauÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯s film company, Teamwork Motion Pictures Ltd., had wanted to start the filming for Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â°Initial DÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â±. The male lead of Takumi Fujiwara was supposed to by played by Edison, with Andy playing the role of his father, Bunta Fujiwara. However, because the cost was too high for the film, in the end, the project had to be terminated. Thereafter, Media Asia Films Ltd. had an interest in that film and invited Tsui Hark to be the director. Currently, Tsui Hark is arranging the movie script and the stars for the roles are being reconsidered.

The film, Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â°Initial DÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â±, illustrates the story of the male lead, Takumi, who, starting from high school, was awoken early in the morning every day by his father -- Bunta, who is highly skilled in car-racing -- to drive and deliver tofu come wind or rain. Over time, TakumiÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯s driving skills have been trained by his father, reaching an extraordinary level. Thereafter, Takumi even drove the Toyota AE 86 Trueno sports car to challenge car-racing experts, Ryosuke Takahashi, Seiji Iwaki, etc.

Taking over! First be a guest star to satisfy a bit of craving for acting

In Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â°Initial DÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â±, there are plenty of exciting car-racing scenes. Tsui Hark had gone to Japan earlier to choose the filming sites. Other than actually filming car-racing scenes, there will also be special effects added to heighten the Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â°car-flyingÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â± effect. According to the costs calculated, the production of the film will be approximately $6,000,000 USD ($47,000,000 HKD). Besides Media Asia, there will also be a collaboration with a Japanese film company for the filming.

Edison, who is currently in England for the shooting of a new film by China director, A Gan, said yesterday over a long-distance phone call, Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â°The company had informed me earlier that I will be starring in this film. I know that the film has two male leads and the on-screen time is about the same. But IÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯m not sure which role IÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯m playing. When I get back on the 12th (day after tomorrow), IÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯ll find out from the company. Being able to star in a big production, IÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯m already very happy. As for the role, itÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯s up to the director to arrange! Actually, IÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯ve never seen this anime. IÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯ll have to wait till I get back before I can find some time to watch it.Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â±

This film, where Jay will star in a leading role, wonÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¯t be in the theatres till next summer. But recently, he guest starred in the film Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â°Hidden TrackÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â± with Shawn Yue for a few scenes. Yesterday, he even specially came from Taiwan to Hong Kong to assist in the movie promotions. He arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport around 4:00p.m. There were 50 odd fans who went to greet him. Since there were only 5 security guards there, it led to some chaos.